Hello, Dad
by Aka-Aki
Summary: There were sakura petals all around. The petals fell, the trees wept. The river trashes, and the ground mourned. Yet, the sky had been much brighter and blue than ever before. Kenji's POV one shot


A/N My first attempt at a Rurouni Kenshin fic. I still haven't watched "Samurai X: The Motion Picture" and I'm very fuzzy about the names and events, so don't blame me if I get something wrong.

The inspiration of this story is Hitokiri Musei's "_Learning to Forgive"._

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Hello, Dad

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I never knew much about him. I never knew what his favorite color was or what his favorite food was. I never knew where he learned to cook. I never knew how he and Mom met. I never knew how he and all of my 'aunts' and 'uncles' met. I never knew he was Hitokiri Battousai, the legendary manslayer.

The only way I was able to know everything I know about him was through Mom. Every night, she would tell me stories about him to help me sleep. She would tell me great tales of all that he did to make everything right in the world.

She would tell me about the friends they had made during all their journeys. I would laugh when she told me when he had finally meet Uncle Saitou's wife, Aunt Tokio, and called her Buddha. I laughed at things that Aunt Misao did to grab Uncle Aoshi's attention and how she finally managed to get it.

I laughed at how Aunt Omasu and Aunt Okon would turn into a couple of blushing schoolgirls every time they saw Master Hiko. I would laugh when Mom would tell me stories of how Okina-jiji would always be doing anything he could to try and woo young girls, despite his old age.

I laughed when she told me stories of how Yahiko and Yutaro would always challenge each other and try to prove how's better or tougher. I would laugh when she told me stories of how Chou was always challenging Uncle Sano. I would laugh when she told me stories of how Uncle Sano and Yahiko would tease and challenge each other, and almost always something would be broken every time they met.

She would tell me about when Yahiko would tease her. They would act like brother and sister, but there was still a mother and son relationship around them. (It made me wonder if Yahiko was an uncle or a brother. It was even more confusing now that he and Tsubame had a kid of their own) She would tell me about how she would beat Yahiko every time he called her "busu" or how she would beat Uncle Sano when he called her "tanuki".

She even told me about Ms. Tomoe Yukishiro. Yeah, I was shocked too. I didn't think that she would actually tell about my father's first love and first wife. Was surprised me even more was that whenever Mom spoke about Ms. Tomoe, she would speak of her with admiration. From what I heard, Ms. Tomoe was the first woman to make my father smile and laugh and love ever since……well….ever. That's why Mom looked up to her. Because she was able to get through his armor. It took Mom awhile to be able to read my father clearly, while Ms. Tomoe could read him like an opened book. She envied that.

She told me about the time that Enishi had kidnapped her just to get revenged. She told me how scared and worry she was for him, not for herself. She told me about the time that crazy Jin-e kidnapped her just to anger him. And it had worked. If she hadn't broken Jin-e's spell in time, he would have killed the crazy man.

She told me about Aunt Meggy and Uncle Sano. She told me how he had helped Aunt Meggy create atonement for her sins. Aunt Meggy had once been involved with opium against her wishes. She told me how Uncle Sano hated Aunt Meggy at first because she sold opium to his friend and he had overdosed on it. She told me how Uncle Sano came to love Aunt Meggy and always teased her by calling her a kitsune.

Mom would tell me about everything. She was storybook that retold the tales of Kenshin Himura. It would bother me that she spoke of him with such passion and love, even though he had abandon us and gotten her sick.

It bothered me that no matter how many times he left, she would always wait for him. It bothered me that no matter how many times he put her life in danger, she would always be willing to run back into his arms.

It bothered me that no matter how strong she was, she would always become weak and helpless when it came to him. It bothered me that she was able to live her life, raising her only son, without her husband by her side. It bothered me that she wanted more children, but she couldn't have any more because it would interfere with his missions.

It bothered me even more that he wasn't there when I needed him. He wasn't there when I fell down and scraped my elbow. He wasn't there when I needed advice. He wasn't there to chase my nightmares away or to comfort me when I was in pain or when I was sick. He wasn't there when I got my heart broken or when I broke my arm.

It bothered me that he was never there when he knew that I needed him. It bothered me that he was never there when he knew that Mom needed him. It bothered me that it didn't bother Mom that he wasn't there!!

But when I found her arched over my father's dead form, nothing bothered me. I stood numbed as the sakura petals fell all around us. I heard Yahiko, Tsubame, and Aunt Meggy gasp and run towards Mom to help her. But Mom was frozen, crying over my father's body.

It didn't bother me that he had finally returned after so many years. It didn't bother me that Mom practically risked her life just to come out and meet him. It didn't bother me that he only came back home to die in Mom's arms.

It didn't bother me that I couldn't breathe. It didn't bother me that tears were running down my face and showed no sign of stopping. It didn't bother me that I felt that half my world had collapsed while the other half was going to give out soon. It didn't bother me that I had to carry my father back home. And it didn't bother me when I suddenly felt love and respect for him.

I looked at his grave and smiled.

"Hello, Dad. Welcome home."


End file.
